August 23rd, 2008 by Romelda
We can hardly believe its been a month since the explosion on July 20, 2008 at 2 Secord Avenue. Since that day our lives have been chaos. After evacuating with nothing but the clothes on my back and the dogs, we have stayed at a friend’s place and are now at The Radisson Hotel at Victoria Park and the 401. We are glad to have a place to stay, but its hard living in a hotel. Its not home. We had a chance to go up to the unit on Tuesday for 15 minutes with the Insurance adjuster. Finally some progress. We entered our apartment to find it far from the way we left it. a new fridge had been brought in to the kitchen. The kitchen itself had been “cleaned” – the countertops had all our small appliances moved and piled (literally) in one area. Supposedly, the property owners had cleaners go into the units to “clean” the things they owned and were part of the unit. The trouble is, some people have belongings missing, thrown out or stolen. It was hard to tell what was and was not still in our kitchen – 15 minutes isn’t alot of time to assess loss.
This ability by the property owners to access our units is posing a major concern for tenants and brings into question the security of our units and our right to privacy. The landlord/owner Preston Group has keys to every unit in the building. They had wanted residents to sign a release form granting them access to our units (these were asked to be signed in the second week of the aftermath) – the majority of residents did NOT sign them on advise from lawyers. The units were only supposed to be accessed by The Toronto Public Health Unit to remove fridges and freezers and any rotting food/garbage in the unit. We all understood that this entry into the units would be overseen solely by Toronto Public Health and NOT the landlords. We were all frustrated to find our privacy violated by the property owners entering our units without permission. There was NO urgency to have the counters wiped off or cleaned, and no other need to enter the units by the landlord. The government officials, yes, but not the landlords. Read the rest of this entry »
August 14th, 2008 by Romelda
Well, its day 26 of the explosion aftermath at 2 Secord Avenue, that occurred on Sunday morning, July 20, 2008 and we are now relocated to a hotel.
We were staying at a friend’s house (thank you!) for a couple weeks after the explosion, while they were away on holiday, and on Aug 11 we relocated to very accommodating Radisson Hotel at Victoria Park and 401. The staff here have been exceptional in their support and graciousness. Everyone who is staying here has been looked after well.
The latest news we have received is that at the beginning of next week we will have another 15 minutes to re-enter our units to get any essentials, clothing etc, we may have been unable to get during the first 15 minute entry on July 27th. This time, however, they are encouraging us to make arrangements with our Insurance Adjusters to come with us so they can view and assess the damage in our suites. Our Property Management Liaison has said that they will be generating power to the elevators to assist us in getting to our units. Heather is thankful for the elevator, as am I – I will also now be able to go into the unit which I haven’t seen since July 20th. Read the rest of this entry »
August 1st, 2008 by Romelda
We have had an overwhelming number of friends, family, colleagues and aquaintences ask us if we need help, or how they can help. I am posting these ideas in response to so many people’s desire to assist us and to make sure we are taken care of.
It is difficult to receive, and overwhelming – we are more the giver type – perhaps this is the lesson here. But we know that we are having a hard time with the knowledge we are in fact homeless, and as it stands, Heather is currently unemployed and I am a freelancer, so our well-being is caught in the balance. We can not thank everyone who has helped us to date enough, there are so many people to thank. We are grateful for friends and family and associates like you.
- It will likely be several months before we can gain access to the building to retrieve our things (if that happens at all). We currently have a few clothes (Heather was able to go in for 15 minutes and retrieve essential items on July 27) and a place to stay temporarily (thanks Heather Lindsay!) We are looking for a new place to stay permanently in the East End of Toronto. If you know of anyone who has a 2 bedroom apartment for rent, please let us know. We have about a $1000/mth budget for an all inclusive unit.
- If you are an Air Miles collector, you can help us by using your Air Miles to “purchase” gift cards/certificates that we can redeem for items we will need to replace. Air Miles is a great way for you to help, but also for us to know it isn’t causing anyone any financial hardship to help either. The following stores have gift cards available through Air Miles that we would be able to make great use of – especially if we find a place to live: HBC, Linens N’ Things, Pier 1, Staples, Shell Fuel, and Budget Car Rental
- Also, if you collect Air Miles, they DO transfer miles to other accounts. However, they do NOT transfer partial miles – you have to transfer all your Air Miles, then they close your account and open you a brand new one with zero balance. If you wish to transfer your Air Miles from your existing account to ours (Registered under Morson Designs), you can call Air Miles and explain and give them my Air Miles account number: 8900 110 1912.
- We are just two of nearly 1000 people who have been displaced by this explosion. A bank account has been set up to accept monetary donations to assist residents displaced by the fire. Cheques should be made out to the City of Toronto, 2 Secord Ave. fire. The donation is tax deductible. Donors should include their names and addresses in order to receive a tax receipt. Cheques can be dropped off to City staff at Secord Public School or mailed to Toronto Office of Partnerships, Metro Hall, First Floor, 55 John St. Toronto ON M5V 3C6. Monetary donations can also be made at two local RBC Royal Bank branches:2780 Danforth Ave. (Danforth Avenue and Dawes Road)
2076 Danforth Ave. (Danforth Avenue and Woodbine Avenue)
Corporate partners who wish to provide in-kind donations are encouraged to provide gift certificates or vouchers for goods and services, and can speak to City staff about how they can help on-site or by calling 647-272-8935.
We don’t know what physical items will require replacement, but we do know that everything in the apartment is covered in a layer of soot, so some things will definitely have to be replaced like the bed. Right now, because the Insurance Adjuster has to “see” the unit to decide what will be covered exactly, we are left with currently an uncooperative Insurance Company.
We don’t wish for anyone who wants to assist to be out of pocket, so we tried to think of ways that you can help us specifically.
Take good care…
We can hardly believe its been a month since the explosion on July 20, 2008 at 2 Secord Avenue. Since that day our lives have been chaos. After evacuating with nothing but the clothes on my back and the dogs, we have stayed at a friend’s place and are now at The Radisson Hotel at Victoria Park and the 401. We are glad to have a place to stay, but its hard living in a hotel. Its not home. We had a chance to go up to the unit on Tuesday for 15 minutes with the Insurance adjuster. Finally some progress. We entered our apartment to find it far from the way we left it. a new fridge had been brought in to the kitchen. The kitchen itself had been “cleaned” – the countertops had all our small appliances moved and piled (literally) in one area. Supposedly, the property owners had cleaners go into the units to “clean” the things they owned and were part of the unit. The trouble is, some people have belongings missing, thrown out or stolen. It was hard to tell what was and was not still in our kitchen – 15 minutes isn’t alot of time to assess loss.
